Singapore – Oil prices were little changed in early Asian trade on Monday, after settling down $2 a barrel on Friday, as rising supplies in the United States and forecasts of more interest rate hikes cooled optimism over China’s demand recovery.
Brent crude slid 9 cents, or 0.1 percent to $82.91 a barrel.
US West Texas Intermediate crude for March was at $76.40 a barrel, up 6 cents. The more active April contract fell 9 cents to $76.46.
The benchmarks closed lower by about 4 percent last week after the United States reported higher crude and gasoline inventories.
Washington also announced plans to release 26 million barrels of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve which could lead to higher stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma.
Expectations that the US Federal Reserve will continue raising interest rates which could strengthen the dollar also capped oil prices. A stronger greenback makes dollar-denominated oil more expensive for holders of other currencies.
In another sign of improving supplies, Kazakhstan will supply 100,000 tons of oil via Russia’s Druzhba pipeline to Germany in March for the PCK Schwedt refinery.
In Asia, investors are eying the People’s Bank of China’s decision on its mortgage rates to support recovery in the property sector and its economy.